grants farm!

penelope and mom had our first official outdoor trip of the summer this past Friday.  Mom took a half day from work and meet up with my michelle/trey and darci/nolan to take advantage of the weather in the 80s!  we've been a bit trapped indoors this summer because of the nasty 95+ heat wave that lasted all summer - so penelope (aka - me) was super excited to get outside!  she mainly just chilled and slept.  then ate and puked and then chilled and slept some more - i think she liked it. although - she was not happy when she got home.  my poor baby has her first official cold and i think maybe the sun was too much for her....  we know to do less time outside for out next trip.  here are some pics from the day...

her sweet park outfit.  i had to put a hat on her - so our optionss to coordinate were limited.

just eating her hand.  penn's new favorite thing to do.

this is how she spent most of the day.  check our the sweet sandals.

michelle and trey on the tram ride..

darci and nolan.  nolan got to witness a giant farting clydsedale.  he told LP about the fart and how gross it was. 

penn "feeding" the goats.

the goat i rescued. p oor thing got it's head stuck between that bar and the wooden fence - i told the milk lady but she said he'd get out... i didnt believe her -so we had to save the little guy.

penn and mom at the bird show.  yep - different shirt - we decided to spit up all over our cute outfit. she looks like a fatty here!

getting ready to leave... tired tired baby!

shoes

we finally can fit into a pair of shoes!

just playing with my activity mat... in my shoes!

just walking on the table... in my shoes! (and my favorite black leggings)

notice the curled up toes - i dont think she is such a fan.

favorite picture of all time.

I am in love with that face.  and this picture.

popped collar

we took penn to the south county ymca book fair last week and we though ti twas actually going be outside so we wanted to dress her cool and with a hat.  we decided to rock out the adorable onesie from aunt christa and uncle jeff and pop her collar.  kid can rock this look.  we went and ate lunch before the book fair at delaneys.  it's not soo kid friendly.  penelope made a lovely little diaper surprise for me and there was not a changing table anywhere.  i did the one my lap change on a nasty wobbly toilet seat.  i'm guessing that wont be the first time we have to improvise to clean a dirty butt :)

enjoy my collar.

just chillin in my hat.  no biggie.

look very serious and very old her.  it looks she has a combover.

bored withh this photo shoot.  want to eat my hand.

there it is! 

this is my new favorite picture of all time.

randoms

a few ranndom pics - no real theme here :)

i love this stare.  it's when we are annoying her and she is reprimanding me with her eyes.

From penns' first drip to church - this is how she spent most of mass.

the rest of mess.  just chilling on mommy.

almost ready for the bubo - liikes it for about 5 mins...

help.  i'm really stuck this time.

 

this one is old from a group lunch with work friends but i love how chill she is here.

my favorite things

these are a few of my favorite things (thought about while putting penelope to bed tonight).

• the way she burrows into my chest when she is really tired but fighting sleep.
• those little smiles as her eyes are closed and she is just dozing off.
• the way she curls up to my chest like a little monkey - like she was made just to fit perfectly on me.
• the way her head smells.
• how soft the back of her head is.
• her awesome old man mullet
• the way those crazy arms and legs flail all over when she plays
• the way she smiles at me when i get her from daycare
• they way her eyes follow me or kris around the room
• the way i think i have her sound asleep, then go get and turn on the monitor and she is wide awake and smiling in bed.
• the way she looks at me sometimes like i'm the biggest idiot in the world.
• they way she tries to suck her thumb but shoves her whole fist in her mouth
• her completely relaxed face during her bath.
• her angry face
• that little "O" owl face
• that amazing gummy smile
• the way she knows to use that amazing gummy smile when she is awake WAY too early
• the way her second chin is more like an entire second neck and lays on her chest
• the way she holds onto my necklace when she is falling asleep - when i'm laying her down it's like she is holding on for dear life.
• the smell of baby breath
• that adorable tiny little baby butt
• those cute little feet
• the way even her forearms are chubby
• the little "ahh" sound she makes when you talk to her
• the way she laughs when you play with her lips
• those gorgeous little eyelashes
• the way she smiles at her daddy.
• the way her daddy can make her smile more than anyone else in the world.
• the way she slaps gatsby.
• how perfect she looks when curled up on her dad's chest.
• everything about that child.

having a sentimental day... i didnt get to pick her up from daycare because i worked late - i missed her soo much today!  and then when i put her pjs on her i realized she was out of 0-3 pjs.  so i tried a 3-6 to see if it fits... and it does :(  she is getting so big so fast... needs to all slow down.

spell check

in case you are wondering..

1. yes the blog has spell check.

2.  i actually am a really good speller.

3. yep - i'm jsut that lazy.

4. yes i am aware of the concept of capital letters.  just not interested in them.

5.  get used to it.  if you like correct spelling and punctuation this blog is not for you.

6.  you are correct... she is the prettiest baby ever made.  you are welcome.

love,
me

change in routine

penelope started daycare for real this week and mom went back to work.  it's been a whoel mix of emotions... stressful, excited, nervous, anxious, sad, happy, etc...but overall i'm really happy.  penelope is doing great.  on mondays she is with grandma h and i'm sure she is getting all the hugs, kisses and spoiling a baby could ask... especially on the mondays that grandpa h stays home to see her too :)  so i was not worried at all for mondays... however, tuesday through friday she goes to her full-time sitter and like any new mom i worried she'd be upset, missing me, or just crying and the sitter woudl be too busy to hold her/cuddle with her... well that is clearly not the case.  suzie is amazing and penelope is happy as can be - it's all i can ask for!  everytime i go to pick her up i can hear her cooing when i come downn the stairs.  suzie loves to sit and talk with her and get all the smiles!  and as long as penelope is being talked to and you are giving her face to face attention - she is happy and will give you some of her more elusive hug smiles and baby coos.  and tata and paw-paw (susan's parents) are there as well and love penelope already.  everytime i come get her - tata gets sad and has to come in for one last kiss before we leave....  and when kris drops penelope off in the morning, the little girls at the sitter come over and say "she's so cute, or she's so pretty"  they have heard all the adults say it - so it's what they say rihgt when they see her - it's adorable.  we are having to get used to a bit of new routine now becuase penleope is super tired from all the daycare stimulation so goes to bed a bit earlier... which in theory sounds good - but it just means that she is actually up an extra time before we are up... so it's taking some getting used to - but we are getting there!  since she started daycare mommy's favorite time is right after we get home and it's just us.  we get some quality play/cuddle time and i love it!   here are some of my favorites from after daycare this week...

how big is penelope... so big!

trying to find my thumb (which she did on wednesday!  but then lost it again.  those thumbs are elusive little suckers).

happy baby!  i like to pretend it's cuz she is so happy to see her mommy and not because she just ate, burped and pooped.

damn thumb got away from me again.

pimp hand!  this kid always has one hand in a fist - she's got that pimp hand ready to lay down the law.

what do you want?  you want to stare at me?  i'll just stare right back.

that's not just a second chin.  that's a second neck.  and i think penelope needs a bra.  those baby boobs are getting inappropriate.

just winding down and watching tv with daddy.   it's been a long day.  a girl needs to rewing with a little boob tube.  (she laid like this and just stared at the tv for about an hour on thursday - it's hard work entertaining all those kids at daycare.)

swimming!

penelope has been in the pool for a few minutes once before but this time she got to wear her new swimsuit and hat and she had some quality time with grandpa d.  as most of you know - grandpa d lives in his poo between may and august so he was a natural choice to take penn in (and i wasnt about to get in a swimsuit in front of people!).  as she did before- penelope was a fan - she loves swimming! probably becuase when it's been 95 degrees or hotter all the summer the pool feels jsut like her favorite thing  - the bath.  she is a definatley water baby...

testing the waters... and debating on napping.

i think i like this.  but i'm going to keep one arm up and out of the water just in case...

maybe i'll just get held for a bit instead.  i'm really good at that.

how cute is the back of that suit???

relaxing with daddy after a nice dip.

chilling in her giraffe cover.  modesty is important at ten weeks.

busy weekend!

last week was super busy for us and penelope - this week was too - which is why i've been blog MIA for awhile.  i'm pretty sure meet about 1 million people in a matter of two days.  On the 14th we had great-uncle jeff and great-aunt christas wedding reception. (no they are not 85, but the "great" in front of aunt/uncle does make it seem that way).  miss penelope was a champ during the party - it helped that there were fans and lights everywhere - this kid will stare at a fan like her life depends on it.  she was passed around and touched and held by a ton of people - and the room had no a/c.  so it was hot as could be - and thorugh it all she did great.  gma and gpa h took her home about 9:30 and puut her little but to bed.  the next day penelope was sort of a big deal.  the deacon at our church asked her to carry down the baptismal oil during a church pastoral induction.  she was soo good during mass (her first time) and she was wide awake for our walk down the aisle.  and she got her name in the bulletin - sort of a big deal.  after mass we came home for a quick nap in the swing then off to aunt sue's for great -gma's 75th bday party!  where penelope did a great job again.  i'm pretty sure we didnt see her at all that weekend - she was too busy showing off for everyone.  but here are a few highlights...

before church with mommy and daddy. wearing her church cardigan - have to look fancy :)  (which came off as soon as we got there cuz the a/c was broken.  yuck :(

meeting her cousin ricky for the first time.  yes she is crying- that little guy has quite the gripe.  he just grapped and held out - it was too cute.

spending some quality time with uncle trenters and borrowing his shades.

relaxing at the end of a LONG weekend.

nothing like a nice bath to wind down...

family visits!

aunt lizzie and uncle mark came by to visit with mommy and penn on thursday before mom went back to work.  uncle mark is just starting to get comfortable holding her and it's tooo sweet.  penelope was pretty chill hanging out with her uncle.  good baby/uncle bonding time!

just chilling with uncle mark

what - there is a camera?  okay, i'll look.

see what happens when you hold me?? i reward you with smiles.

that's right - i'm really freaking cute.  see what you've been missing?

old man head

i love her hair.

gatsby watching penn

a little bit of sweet, a little bit of silly.

i saw this quote today on someone's facebook and i loved it:

I loved you the minute I knew I was pregnant. I loved you the minute you were born. Then I saw your face and fell in love some more. You were only a minute old but I knew I would die for you & to this day I still would. When you choose to have a child you make a conscious decision to allow your heart to walk around outside your body.

and i made it through my first day back at work - not so bad... and i only worked 5 1/2 hours - but hey - i did it!  penelope was great -t he babysitter told me how much she smiled for her and when i went to get her all the other little kids were soo cute - they helped me get her stuff ready to go and all yelled by to "l-pee" as we left.. adorable.

i didnt do as well... i tripped several times wearing heels (been since january) adn i apparently forgot how to wear real pants.

i went to go the restroom this morning at work, and couldnt get my pants off. then i realized i needed to unbutton and unzip them. yep - it's been that long since i've worn something with a button/zipper that i actually forgot how to do it. as soon as i got from wrok - the sweats were back on :) zippers are for losers.

overall i think it was a successful first day.  i missed her like crazy but i think i can handle this.  i'll never be truly ready - but it's time.

time to cuddle with my baby now!

l-pee.

well the time is finally here.  i have to go back to work.  after 18 weeks off i'm heading back to the big B tomorrow.  and i definately h ave some mixed feelings about it.  i can't even think about missing time with penelope.  it's amazing how much i love her after such a short period of time.  and she is getting more and more interactive and amazing every time.  she loves to just lean against your knees and talk to you.  just smiles and grunts and coos and seems to truly believe she is having a conversation with you.  going to be hard to leave that.  and especially miss her fun morning times.  like with most babies, mornings are her best.  she's alert and happy and the most smiley that she'll be all day.  it's soo strange to think of not spending most of the day with her.  you go from having her actually physically being a part of you for nine months, then spending almost every second together - awake and sleeping - for 2 1/2 months after that.  and then all the sudden - you have to go cold turkey and drop her off at a sitter adn join the real world again.  time to leave the mommy/baby bubble that i've been in.  i have to say that this is the hardest part about pregnancy and having a baby.  sooo much harder than actaully being pregnant, bed rest, delivery or even those first few sleepless weeks.  i wish i could start at day one again.  and be just holding her for the first itme - cuz then i've have 2 more months!  okay - enough about how sad i'm going to be to leave her - i know this is good and we both really really need it. i need adult coversation again, i need to put on real clothes again and maybe even do my hair and put on makeup!  i know it's time - i really do and i'm sure in a couple weeks i'll be feeling good about all this.  we did do a baby-sitter trial run this week and she did great.  slept a lot, was only a little fussy, ate well and seemed fine when i picked her up.  tomorrow she goes for real and then next week will be a full week of the sitter.  it's just so crazy!  all the little kids at daycare (and all my friends kids) can't seem to say her name and it's soo adorable.  they call her l-pee.  basically just the last syllable of her name :0  so adorable.  i like it.  l-pee (actually let's make it just l-p) :)  she has a new nickname.  okay - enough blogging.  i'm going to cuddle with my baby.